Opposition Grows To Just Transition

Last week, the federal government tabled Bill C-50 in Parliament, titled “An Act respecting accountability, transparency and engagement to support the creation of sustainable jobs for workers and economic growth in a net-zero economy.”

In other words, it’s the rebranded “Just Transition” legislation, a policy that Ottawa has been preparing to force down the throats of western Canada’s energy industry for the past two years.

The Act, which is light on details of exactly how Trudeau plans on enforcing the federal government’s net-zero targets, sets the stage for the federal government’s next move - to phase the oil and natural gas industry out of existence altogether.

This is in spite of the fact that natural resources are exclusive provincial jurisdiction, as outlined in the Constitution of Canada.

Enshrining natural resources in the constitution was something that former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed fought vigorously to obtain in hopes of defending Alberta’s energy industry against the attacks of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Those were the good old days, if you think about it.

Back then, Pierre Trudeau was simply trying to milk the West’s resources to pay for lavish and expensive social programs across the country.

Simpler times, indeed.

Now, Pierre’s son Justin is on an ideological mission to completely dismantle western Canada’s energy industry.

Premier Danielle Smith has been steadfast in her opposition.

Following Monday’s meeting with federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc and federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, she announced that she was not going to go along with overly ambitious federal net-zero climates targets that are going to be very, very costly for Alberta.

She emphasized that the oil and gas emissions cap and the 2035 net-zero electricity grid targets would kill jobs and drive out billions of dollars of investment into our local economy.

She drove home the point that if the federal government interferes in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction, the Alberta government will stand its ground.

She didn’t mention the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act by name, but she didn’t need to.

Everyone knows that it’s the elephant in the room, the explosive element in the mix that has been giving the federal government reason to pause and think for months.

The Sovereignty Act is acting as a deterrent in a diplomatic relations dispute between the federal government and the Alberta government.

Which is exactly what it is designed to do.

The federal government can tiptoe around it all it wants, but the fact of the matter is that Ottawa is violating the fundamental basis of the Constitution by pushing forward with its aggressive and costly climate platform, and its commitment to dismantling the energy industry is frightening and unjust.

We have more work to do, and our team is already hard at work on our next campaign, so if you want to help us stand up to an overbearing and hostile federal government, please donate here!

Our friends at Project Confederation also have an ongoing petition to “Stop The Unjust Transition," and we strongly urge you to sign their petition and make your voice heard.

The time has come to defend ourselves against Ottawa, tooth-and-nail.

Regards,

The Free Alberta Strategy Team